Screaming Rebel
The Samaritan's Dilemma - Part 5
by Douglas E. Kulp
(codename.doug@gmail.com)

Synopsis:
The command crew rallies behind Captain O'Cambell's cause, despite the possibility of violating the Prime Directive. But not all of the crew is enthusiastic. And when an interpretation of law encourages mutiny, the crew begins to fall apart at the worst possible time.

The Samaritan's Dilemma, Part 5
The Prime Directive, Challenged

Captain's log,
We have changed course for Goggine Three, a trip that will take us 14 days, perhaps longer if we have to slow to a lower warp speed as we approach the system. So far, we have not run into any more Orions. We have also been lucky that we haven't encountered Starfleet ships either. But I wonder how long our luck will last. The cloaking shield is a real power hog, and if I try to use it at this point, we risk running out of fuel later. So for the time being, we are going to have to continue to role the dice.

She was being crushed from all sides. There were profanities shouted every where. She couldn't stay still she was being pushed and pulled in too many directions. There were woeful sobs cast in total despair. No one could see any thing because the darkness. The painful crack of whips split the air, propelled by angry unintelligible shouting. One man, perhaps the only man, tried to be brave, praying to the Sun Goddess to come and deliver their souls to the green, sun soaked hills. It was against him the whips cracked hardest, until he was silenced by a beam of light and a flash of heat. The crush around her increased as they were sealed in, and then sent adrift. The despair mounted, growing into fear. Fear growing into a panic. She couldn't breath. No one could breath. Who knows how much time had passed in the grip of such terror. But one by one, the stale air ended the sobbing, the cursing, entombing under a growing, and crushing pail of silence.

=/\=

She erupted with a defining shriek as she exploded awake. Flailing out in all directions as she continued to cry out and shriek in a state of absolute panic, lashing out at fears and monsters that only she could see.

She eventually scrambled out of bunk, and compressed herself into the corner of the room, and began to whimper, and there she stayed.

What alarmed him the most however was what she wasn't doing. She wasn't looking around, or exploring the room, seeing where the doors went.

"It's worse than I thought, Skipper," Tanya said as she continued to study the monitor that displayed the security camera in the steerage state room. "She must have been violently abused, possibly rapped, defiantly beaten, over a period of days or even weeks. But its likely she was also exposed to a lot of psychological torture as well."

"It's like she isn't even human," Ezekiel said.

"Well, aside from the fact that she actually isn't human, when you are subjected to this kind of torture, the mind starts to cave in on itself, you begin to have something of an insect like mentality geared entirely to self preservation," Tanya said, "The part of you that is your own personality literally begins to atrophy."

"I've seen it before," Lie said from behind Ezekiel, "They were trying to break her. The harder you fight back, the more intense the disciplining."

"Is there any hope for her?" Ezekiel said.

"As I said before, it all depends on how long she was abused; if it was just a few days, than her higher concusses should start to reassert itself in a day or so. If she was abused for weeks or longer however, the mental damage will be more extreme, in which case, what we see, is what we get. At this point, the only thing we can do is give her space."

"Mr. Stunn to the Skipper," the intercom suddenly said.

"Ezekiel here," he said as he tapped a com-panel.

"Skipper, we are ready for you in the amphitheater."

Ezekiel exchanged a knowing look with Lie. "We will be right there."

=/\=

Because of the limited amount of space on the Screaming Rebel, most rooms on the ship serve double duty in one form or another. Nothing typified this use more than the amphitheater. Its primary function was to provide restrains for passengers and crew during high risk maneuvers such as landings and take-offs. For this purpose, the room was fitted with fifteen gravity restrain chairs and six small cubical used for infants and small children.

But the room could also be used as a stage. To pass the time for long trips, passengers and crew might put on plays or music recitals. So there was an attached stage along with extra seating. The stage was small and simple, but with holographic technology, the background and props could be as simple, or as elaborate, as desired.

Such technology was also useful as a make shift holodeck. The stage was large enough that it could be partitioned into six separate chambers so that crew and passengers could move about in a very complex and wide environment while still interacting with other players. And of course this was also useful for training and drills for the crew.

On this occasion, it was being used as a briefing room. The stage's holographic system could be pressed into service to display schematics and other technical or statistical information. All controlled from the "narrator's podium" which was just a computer console placed on the right side of the stage which could control the holographic systems.

Stepping inside, Ezekiel could see that Nyesha, Dr. Grim, Stunn, Loggen, and Natch were already waiting for him. Stunn at the moment was sitting at the narrator's podium.

"Now that every one is here, shall we begin," Stunn said, "we might start with a better explanation as to the nature of this mission. You said you suspected that the Orions were kidnapping the Goggine and selling them into slavery. How did you arrive at this conclusion?"

"Because they told me," Ezekiel said, "When I landed on their planet, they were already at war. The reason for this war was that each nation was accusing the other of kidnapping their citizens. But if they were taken by transporter, than there would be no way any nation could prove their innocence. But the idea didn't occur to me until we came across the Orion's attempt to throw their 'incriminating evince' overboard."

"Not exactly a very logical evaluation," Stunn said, ", the evidence that you sight is inconclusive."

"What is why I need to go back," Ezekiel said, "If this is the case, than we need to find evidence and bring it to Starfleet's attention."

"What all do we know about the Goggine?" Nyesha asked.

"Well, not a lot actually," Ezekiel began, "As the Goggine are protected by the Prime Directive; any unusual information would be classified. We will first have to start a survey process. It might be easer if we can find the same city that I visited last time. I only saw it once, but that will still give me a frame of reference to compare any changes against."

While Ezekiel went on about the survey, he didn't notice Stunn attempting to get his attention. Stunn eventually decided to give up gaining the skipper's attention and called up a set of graphic of a planet in question onto the stage that was brightly colored according to various governing reigns. There was even a large arrow pointing to the Kingdom of Hemmatt.

"All I have to go on to find this city is the shape of the harbor. It opened up to the east with high mountains on the north and west side. The river came in from... the... south...? Mr. Stunn, if this information is restricted, than why is there a political globe of Goggine floating over the stage on my ship?"

"Um, well sir... it is rather pointless to research any given subject with out adequate knowledge. I..."

"You hacked the Starfleet data network, didn't you?" Ezekiel said.

"Captain, I take great acceptation to that accusation," Stunn said, "I did not hack Starfleet's data base, which would be illegal."

"Than who did?" Ezekiel said.

There was a momentary pause, and then, every one in the turned to look at Teddy Loggen, who suddenly found him self in the spot light.

"Oh I see how this work, a few wise cracks about your ears and you sell me out? Is that it?" Teddy said, "What kind of fellowship is that?"

"You hacked the network?" Ezekiel said, "The Borg can't even crack Starfleet's network."

"The Borg? Baugh, a bunch of computer algorithms. They couldn't crack their way out of a nested loop. But a dynamic, real time, proto-algorithm, wet wear interface, that's how you... I just ousted my self, didn't I? Hay, we were going to brake the law any way, right?"

"You and me are going to have a little chat, later," Ezekiel said.

"Captain, might I point out that, as you human say, one good tern deserves another?" Stunn said.

"See? How can you argue with logic like that?" Teddy said. Ezekiel took in a deep breath, followed by a long sigh.

"Very well," Ezekiel said, "what do we know about the Goggine?"

"As it turns out, quite a bit," Stunn said, "As you can clearly see, Starfleet has detailed maps regarding their geo-political organization." Stunn then began to show off a string of maps and charts. "We also have extensive data on the distribution and composition of religious structures, extensive geologies of nearly sixteen thousand families, some of which are tagged with sub-space transponders. But this is what I have been able to deduce as information relevant to our intentions. Goggine has an interesting history. It was in fact the fist intelligent civilization that was discovered shortly after the formation of the Federation, and shortly after the Prime Directive came into full force as a mater of law and policy."

The hologram of the planet zoomed away and was replaced by a star field.

"As you can see here, the Goggine system is remarkably close to Earth. This affords the system a great deal of protection and oversight. This proximity, as well as the restricted quality of this area of space, has proven to be an ideal proving ground for Starfleet training and 'sea trials' of new starships and crews. So much so that critics even accuse Goggine of having a larger Starfleet than Earth. Of all the systems in Federation Space, other than perhaps Earth itself, no other sections of space are more controlled, but there are notable exceptions. During times of war and catastrophe, resources that are used to protect Goggine from cultural contamination are inevitably withdrawn and re-deployed else where. As it turns out, we are in one of those periods."

"The war with the Yaran," Ezekiel said.

"Correct," Stunn continued, "If the Goggine are used as an example of what is possible under the Prime Directive, the Yaran are a cautionary tail to why the Prime Directive is needed. The Yaran was the very first sentient species that Humans encountered when they first started to explore space on their own. At the time, the Yaran were at the height of their industrial revolution, with extensive pollution and contamination of their environment. With the best of intentions, Humans established a diplomatic relationship and started making the Yaran's aware of the dangers of global warming. But too many Humans had intentions of exploiting the Yaran. There was a massive infusion of new technology. Its domestic political structure became rife with fraud and corruption, eventually becoming unstable, and was inevitably taken over by radical elements, some of them with extreme anti-Federation rhetoric. The Yaran sphere of influence has been a political and military hotspot ever since the inception of the Federation. In that time, the Yaran have shown an uncanny ability to seek out new technology and adapt them to their own intentions. Some have called them the low tech version of the Borg."

"The Yaran are still relatively technically primitive," Ezekiel said, "their star navy is no match even for a modestly armed Starfleet vessel. Even the Screaming Rebel could take on several of their capital ships. Or so we believed. It seems that they may have found a new source of technology, possibly from the Orions."

"That assumption may be inaccurate, Skipper," Stunn said, "Shortly after the Edison was destroyed, a powerful political faction within the Yaran political structure claimed responsibility, and declared an all out war against Starfleet positions. Including a number of smaller engagements, they attempted a massive assault on Earth itself with nearly five hundred capital war ships. The Yaran fleet did not win a single confrontation. Starfleet forces remain unquestioningly superior in all areas. Nearly half of the Yaran fleet was crippled with the assault on Earth, with out a single Starfleet losing their shields, or taking on a single casualty. The USS Edison, to date; is the only ship the Yaran managed to destroy."

"Must have been nice for Starfleet, to take on an enemy they could actually handle for a change," Lie said.

"Skipper, I think you are correct with your theory that the USS Edison was sabotaged, and that the saboteurs used the USS Perseverance to get off the ship. But they didn't evacuate to a Yaran vessel, but an Orion pirate cruiser, probably one that was cloaked," Stunn said, "I believe that the Yaran may have been manipulated into launching he war against Starfleet, specifically for the purpose of drawing Starfleet away from Goggine."

"So our mission is to acquire proof of this?" Lie said, "But than what? If we fine evidence, what do we do with it?"

"We report it to Starfleet," Ezekiel said.

"If we report it to Starfleet, I would guess they might be less likely to punish us for violating the Prime Directive," Nyesha said.

"And there is evidence to suggest that sufficient contamination may already exist," Stunn said, "In your trial, you stated that King Harr was already aware of the Federation, and of Starfleet, and that this knowledge was common enough that his men was able to identify your rank, and to expect a captain. Perhaps the Goggine's isolation was not as complete as desired."

"But my presence changed there religion," Ezekiel said, "They started building temples in our honor. I didn't learn much about their religion, but they tend to be star worshipers. When we arrived, they were able to put names and faces to those stars."

"Actually, that is not what the sociologists who researched the contamination concluded," Stunn said, "It was their opinion that the new temples may have been something a bit more specific than general worship. It may have been their way of appealing to the Federation for help, serving the function of an embassy rather than a temple of worship."

"Diplomatic relations through payer?" Natch said.

"The only way available to them," Nyesha said.

"So where do we start looking?" Natch said, "We need the needle, and that planet is looking like a remarkably large haystack."

"You said that some of the Goggines are tagged," Lie said, "Why not look for those tag's?"

"I already tried that," Teddy said, "When I cracked the Starfleet net, I had the computer do an inventory on all tagged individuals, all of them are accounted for on the planet. The transponders being used here are hardly encrypted, so if the Orions were beaming them off the planet, they can easily avoid the tags."

"What if we tag them?" Grim asked.

"We would have the same problem. Our tags can be just as easily spotted and avoided. Plus, we would have to catch and release Goggines in order to deploy the tags," Stunn said.

"What we need to do, is a little detective work," OrVok said, "My guess is that the Orions are getting help from the ground."

"You're not suggesting that a Goggine is helping out the Orions?" Grim said.

"OrVok's suggestion is not without merit," Stunn said, "In ancient earth when slave trading was still common, European slave traders often made contracts with African tribes to sell out their competitors and enemies. The Europeans would come and take away entire villages, allowing the remaining Africans to move in and take over their land. And there is a valid reason why the Orions would want to use insiders, extensive targeting sweeps for transporter targets would leave a distinctive energy residue that can be spotted with a trycroder or from orbit."

"Such a scan would also make you stand out, despite a cloaking shield," Natch said.

"Than it's agreed, we will be looking for the collaborators," Nyesha said.

"Easer said than done," OrVok said, "The collaborators will know the land, the people; they know how to blend in well enough that even Starfleet cultural observers didn't spot them. We can't just go walking up and down the street scanning for technology and expect to find any thing."

"Then we will just have to get help from our own collaborators," Ezekiel said.

"What do you mean by that, Skipper," Doctor Grim said.

"We approach King Harr with our problem. He will have officers who will be far capable of investigating this than we do, even without advanced technology," Ezekiel said.

"Now wait just one New York minute!" Natch said, "I was told we were going to Goggine to brake up a slave ring, not to contaminate their culture."

"I agree with Mr. Natch," Doctor Grim said, "The sort of knowledge that we will have to share with Goggine will radically alter their civilization. We risk turning the Goggine into the next Yaran."

"The Prime Directive assumes that a civilization is sufficiently isolated and able to evolve and progress under there own terms," Stunn said, "But if O'Cambell is right, than the Prime Directive has only made them vulnerable to a much more advanced outside threat."

"And who is to say that our tampering with their civilization doesn't present the Goggine with an equal, if not greater threat, than the Orions?" Natch said, "What's the point of trying to save the Goggine if we end up destroying their culture as a consequence?"

"But this is not the case, we are clearly dealing with a threat that is outside the Goggine's ability to defend themselves," Stunn said.

"But that isn't the intension of this mission," Dr. Grim said, "We are looking for Goggine's who are collaborating with the Orion's to sell them selves into slavery. The Prime Directive clearly restricts our activity to that the Goggine civilization can evolve under its own terms."

"Even if that behavior is self destructive?" Lie said.

"Especially if that behavior is self destructive," Grim said, "Look at the Yaran, they were in the process of destroying their planet through pollution and global warming. Humans were compelled to interfere, all be it with the best of intensions, and look at the result, an entire civilization bent of gorilla warfare against the Federation. If a race is bent on destroying themselves through global war or pollution, the truth of the mater is that we don't have the power to save them."

"You're saying that it's a mater of choice that Goggines are selling their own kind into slavery!" Lie said as she stood up from her chair. It was rather evident that her tempter was starting to get the better of her. So much so that OrVok felt compelled to stand from his own chair, just in case he would need to intervene.

"I fear that the Doctor's interpretation of the Prime Directive is accurate. Unless it can be shown that the Orions actively manipulated Goggine culture to include the concept of slavery, than Goggine's activity of selling themselves into slavery would be protected under the Prime Directive. Unfortunately, while I only briefly scanned some of the sociological research, it is still quite clear that slavery is a concept found in almost all Goggine cultural spheres," Stunn said.

"If that's true, than the Federation wouldn't have had the right to pressure the Orions into stopping them from trading my people as slaves," Lie said.

"That's ridiculous, the Orions are a warp capable culture, and are clearly except from the Prime Directive," Natch said.

"And why is that relevant here?" Ezekiel said.

"Because they have the power to participate in the intergalactic community, the Goggines do not," Natch said.

"But King Harr officially asked me, as a representative of Starfleet, for assistance in negotiating an end to there war," Ezekiel said, "Dose the fact that he doesn't have access to transportation to deliver this request in person to the Federation Senate diminish the relevance of that request? The Orions do have warp technology, but we still have embassies on Orion prime so that they don't have to travel light years to make a request of the Federation."

"If the Prime Directive prohibits us from interfering, than what could they possibly ask of the Federation that wouldn't violate the Prime Directive?" Dr. Grim said.

"How about an end to slavery," Lie said.

"They are selling them selves into slavery," Natch said, "What right do we have to interfere?"

"How about, because it's the right thing to do," Lie said.

"Oh right, the right thing to do. I am sure the skipper told the Yaran that as butchered the escape pods," Natch said.

"Why you little..."

"STAND DOWN!" OrVok said as he jumped in between them.

"Get out of the way!" Lie said.

"Look, the way I see it, we are either all in on this, or the mission is scrubbed. I know fifty ways to Sunday to bring this ship to a screeching halt," Natch said, "so you've got to convince me to get on board or we go no where."

"I have to agree with Natch," Dr. Grim said, "When I agreed to this, it was under the assumption that finding proof that the Orions were taking Goggines as slave might exculpate us from violating the Prime Directive. But if the Goggines are selling themselves to the Orions is a protected activity, than we expose ourselves to an even greater liability."

"What kind of doctor are you!" Lie snapped.

"You want some of this sweetheart!" Natch said, "You come down here, I give it to you."

"QUIET!" Ezekiel finally said, "This meeting is over with!"

"But what about..." Lie said.

"I said; we are finished," Ezekiel said, "Every one go back to your stations. We will pick this up when every one has had an opportunity to cool down and think things over."

"Look, I meant what I said," Natch said.

"Out!" Ezekiel said as he pointed over the dworf.

"All right, all right, I don't need a piano to fall on my head to take a hint," Natch said as he walked out of the room.

"OrVok," Ezkeil said, "I want you to keep an eye on every one, make certain nothing gets out of hand. Post a twenty four hour shift."

"I don't think they will be trouble..." OrVok said.

"No. There isn't going to be any trouble on my ship, a watchful eye dose wonders to insure that it stays that way," Ezekiel said, "If you need, you can work me into the rotation."

"Eye skipper," OrVok said as he left.

Ezekiel let out a long, deep sigh as he watched every one else leave as well. Soon, only he and Nyesha were left in the room.

"Well, that went over well," she said. Ezekiel sighed again.

"This is going to be a lot harder than I thought," he said.

"I am sure they will pull through," Nyesha said.

"I have seen issues like this tear apart Starfleet command staffs with ten times the discipline," Ezekiel said, "And I don't have the option of throwing the hot heads into the brig. And Natch might be right, what if the Prime Directive dose protect the Goggine's slave trade with the Orions?"

"We can always turn back and just report your concerns to Starfleet," Nyesha said, "And let them worry about it."

"I thought of that," Ezekiel said, "But then we would have a problem with Lie, who is probably even more passionate about this than Lie is. No, the problem has just gotten a lot more complicated. Don't worry though, I will think of something. I hope."

=/\=

Ezekiel took another sip from his coffee, which was growing increasingly cold and bitter, but he was as yet not ready to go up several decks to refresh his mug. He was still too engrossed in his research into the Prime Directive. What he was finding was not particularly encouraging.

While Natsh's specific issue of the Goggines participating in their own slave trade had never been brought up in the courts, the existing president could be interrupted that way.

But their was another problem he hadn't counted out, the interpretation of the law was not established by the civilian courts at all, but a special review committee made up of sitting or former Starfleet admirals called the Prime Directive Enforcement Committee, or the PDEC. Critics of the committee argued that the panel was biased, given that its members were drawn exclusively from Starfleet ranks, who by definition were ordered to respect a specific view point of the Prime Directive as a precondition for rising through the ranks. Critics also noted that past committees consisted of retired admirals, but recent trends have started placing sitting admirals on the panel, and using admirals more military backgrounds, rather than sociological ones, making the committee more militant by its nature. Its more recent rulings have all been forgone conclusions, even before cases were brought before it.

Their have been attempts to reform the PDEC, starting with placing its budget under the Division of Cultural and Native Relations, more commonly called the CNR But efforts to rain in the PDEC's budget, or even to make its full budget open to the public, has been with stiff political opposition. But critics point out that it is pointless to rain in the PDEC's civilian budget, when its sitting members can so easily call upon Starfleet resources, which don't fall under the jurisdiction of the CNR.

Adding to the issue was the fact that P.D.E.C. reform was so low on the list of important issues, especially when you consider the threat from the Borg. Which begged the question, if the Borg were such a threat, why was it that militarily experienced admirals found them selves sitting on the P.D.E.C. when they should be overseeing the war? And by its very nature, PDEC policy didn't result with any sort of consequence relevant to the Federation, despite the fact that PDEC policy has always been fairly arbitrary and even contradictory in many cases.

There were also numerous incidences where their proximity to the neutral zone or other strategic sectors produced a convenient suspension of the Prime Directive. In most of these cases, Starfleet military bases, and even Federation support colonies existed side by side with the domestic populations in relative peace. But such agreements, and even treaties, were complicated when the Prime Directive was than enforced after the fact, producing a Prime Directive "land borders." Borders that usually expanded to meet Starfleet and Federation needs, but rarely receded, resulting with a defactoe colonization. In this case, the domestic populations were still fighting just for the right to even approach the PDEP. It's easy to claim every thing is fine and dandy when people with problems aren't even allowed to speak up.

Even who and when the Prime Directive applied was more often than not arbitrary. In theory, populations that developed naturally on a planet were to be protected, but if they were colonists that either by accident or by design, lost contact with the civilized galaxy, they didn't have the right to enjoy the protections of the Prime Directive, even if they petitioned specifically for the right to be left alone.

None of this offered much optimism for amnesty in violating the Prime Directive.

Just then, he heard his door chime go off. Standing up, Ezekiel went to open the door personally, only to discover that no one was waiting to greet him on the other side.

"Hello, down here," Natch said.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you," Ezekiel said.

"We need to talk," Natch said as he pushed his way in past Ezekiel's legs.

"Please, won't you come in, have a seat," Ezekiel said as Natch claimed onto one of his chairs in his guest foyer.

"Look, I want you to know that I am really having a problem with this thing," Natch said, "I meant it when I said that I could sabotage this ship to keep her from going forward."

"And right now you are wondering why you shouldn't," Ezekiel said as he sat down as well, "I am not going to play you Mr. Keeler, the law even obligates you to sabotage the ship if you have reason to believe the Prime Directive is about to be violated."

"Look, we voted on this, I was the only no vote in the room. But if this slave trade is protected?" Natch said, "And then you tell me that this mission has no hope of sucsess if we don't contact the Goggine?" Natch said, "You've got to give me something."

Ezekiel thought the challenge over for a moment, and then came up with an idea. "Wait here." He then went into his bed room, and returned with an ornate wood box. "I want to show you something."

With that, he opened the box and produced a black velvet cloth that had twenty various birth stones attached to it, and handed it to Natch to examine for himself.

"Just before the USS Edison was destroyed, I over-road the emergency beam down protocols, and was able to save sixty seven members of my crew. We beamed down right into the middle of a war zone however, and it didn't take long for them to find and capture us. That was when King Harr formally asked me to mediate the war for them. I even met with the opposing general, who seemed receptive to the idea of third party mediation.

"When I refused; I and my crew became a political football. The knowledge and technology we possessed ran the risk of radically altering the balance of power in the conflict. Half of us died just crossing the mountains. A few more of us died in King Harr's dungeon. There is no telling how many Goggines died, or are dieing, as a result of the expansion of the war that I caused," Ezekiel said, "Because of my actions, their were only twenty three stars on that cloth, instead of the sixty seven that deserve to be their."

"You did the right thing," Natch said, "If you had interfered, the Goggine would have ended up just like the Yaran."

"That is what every one keeps telling me, but no one knows that for certain, any more than they can predict the future. And don't forget that the ecology on the Yaran's plant was in a state of global collapse when humans found it, would the Yaran be extinct if we hasn't interfered? Exactly how could my mediation to end a war be a bad thing?" Ezekiel said. He then let out with a long sigh, stood up, and looked out a small porthole that showed the streaking stars aft of the ship.

"I don't know," he continued, "Maybe the experts are right, and I would have doomed the Goggine race had I interfered. But that isn't what is causing me to lose sleep at night. I have a choice between good and evil and I chose to do nothing. I didn't even try. When I die, that will be one of the sins God will hold me too."

"I didn't come here for touchy feely, skipper," Natch said as he placed the black cloth He sounded like he was far from impressed, "but the best of intensions aside, do you have a plan?"

He thought about his response very carefully, weighing in on the implications of each word and their inflections. Did he really want to make Natch an enemy? In the end, he decided that honesty was the best policy.

"No," Ezekiel said.

Natch Keeler hopped out of his chair and stepped up to the door to leave.

"That was a very touching story, skipper," Natch said, "It bought you some time. I'll get you to Goggine three, but unless you can change my mind, that is all the further I will go."

"Yes Captain," Ezekiel said. Natch began to grumble under his voice as he walked out of his room, leaving him alone again. He continued to look out of his small window at the stars streaking away as he considered Natch's ultimatum.

It was worth a shot, but he was obviously too smart to let a simple emotional appeal influence his opinion. But it was as he expected, there was very little he could say that might change his mind.

For a few moments, he let the stars saturate his mind as he opened up his mind to inspiration from a higher power, and then an idea came to him. Their was little he could say, but their was some one else on the ship who's perspective might hold a bit more sway.

After making a quick stop at a replicator, he then went to the steerage cabin where the alien girl was being kept. To his surprise, the door was locked, and wouldn't allow him to enter.

"Computer, Captain's over-ride, and open this door," he said. The computer responded with a beep, and then opened the door for him, letting him into the foyer for the cabin. The second door to the bed chamber was already open, with the opening closed off by a force field quietly humming. His entry was enough to spook the girl on the other side that jumped up from her bunk and retreated to the wall on the far side.

He reached down, and turned the device that he had the replicator made for him, on.

"Hello," Ezekiel said, "my name is Captain Ezekiel O'Cambell; you are on my ship, the FRS Screaming Rebel. We rescued you from the stolen Orion transport. Can you understand me?"

"You... you speak my language," she said in a soft tone.

"Actually, I can't," he said. He held up the device so that she could see it. "It's called a universal translator. It's an incredible piece of technology. It was originally invented by the Betazed. As I understand, it works on a telepathic level, amplifying and connecting the speech centers of our brains on a common telepathic level so that we perceive a common language. It's quite a remarkable piece of technology. I think you will find it extremely useful. I would like to give it to you. May I?"

She looked at him, as if the notion of being asked for permission was something new to her.

"Am I dead?" she finally said.

Her words were more like a squeak, spoken with barely enough volume for him to make out the words.

"Am I in hell?" she said.

"No," he said with confidence, "You are not dead, and you are not in hell. In fact, you have just been rescued. You're safe now. No one here is going to harm you."

"And the others, what about the others?" she said.

He drew in a deep breath, and slowly let it out.

"I am truly sorry," he said softly, "We tried to get to you as fast as we could, but in the end, you were the last one we found alive," Ezekiel said, "I am truly sorry. If there is any thing we can do?"

The girl seemed to be strangely silent, still cowering against the far wall. Clearly she didn't quite believe him when he promised her no more harm.

Perhaps this was a foolish idea, she wasn't ready just yet. Maybe in a day or do, she would be stronger and more confident enough to help. But until then, he was just practicing another form of cruelty.

"I'm sorry," he said again, "I will leave the translator here just outside. We are monitoring the room, so if you need any thing, any thing at all, just speak out loud and we will here. I am sorry to frighten you like this." With that, he turned to leave.

"Wait," she suddenly said, "The Great Sun, if I am not dead, than I need to see the Great Sun."

He turned back around to face her. She had made a simple request, but one that would be impossible for him to grant at this time.

"Might I ask why?" Ezekiel said.

"Am I your prisoner than?" she said instead.

He frowned, and then reached over to the key pad to punch in the code that lowered the force field.

"No," he said, "the shield was for your own protection. But now that you are lucid, there is no further need of it. But you can't leave the ship."

"I demand you take me to the Great Sun," she said, now becoming bolder, "I am Princess Nearleen Oury'A, daughter to Queen Nearleen Zaymori, and hair to the thrown Yesairy. I command you."

"And again, I ask you why," Ezekiel said.

"I..." she suddenly fell silent and turned away, "I failed my people. They looked to me for leadership, for deliverance. And I failed them when they needed me most. I am not the leader my mother wished me to be."

He let out with another long sigh.

"Come with me," Ezekiel said, "I want to show you something."

She retreated again.

"I promise you, you won't be harmed," he said as he offered her a hand. She still hesitated, but eventually she stepped away from the far was in preparation to follow him. But she didn't take his hand.

He led her just across the hall where the luxury guest quarters were, and to the huge bay windows that looked aft of the ship, and the warp streaks of the retreating stars. She seemed to look on in a strange mixture of horror and confusion.

"I don't understand," she said, "I thought you said we were on a ship? Where is the sea?"

"This ship is made to travel between the stars."

"Than I am dead..." Nearleen said as she retreated from the window.

"Trust me, you aren't dead," Ezekiel said.

"Only the Goddesses or the dead may explore the stars," Nearleen said, "If I am not dead, than show me the Great Sun, the Temple of the Goddesses."

Ezekiel rubbed his chin, trying to think of how to explain all this.

"The sun and the stars are actually one and the same thing. What you perceive to be a sun is actually just a star that is very close to you. And stars are actually suns that are very far away. Right now, we are traveling very fast to another star, and around that star are planets, and on one of those planets are people, not unlike your selves. Just like the planet you were taken from." He could tell just by looking at her that his explanation was beyond her understanding at the moment. He sighed again. "I have the power to create the elusion of a sun," he offered, "if that is what you want."

"No more magic or trickery," she said, "I demand that you take me to the Great Sun... I... "

"I'm sorry, that just isn't in my power," Ezekiel said, "Unless you can tell me which of those stars is your home, I fear we have no way of sending you home."

He saw a single tear drip from her eye as she looked out the bay windows. It looked like she finally understood all though she probably already suspected the truth.

"Than I can never go home?" Nearleen said.

"I wouldn't say that," Ezekiel said, "never is a very long time. The Orions probably know where you came from. Unfortunately, we can't just ask them. But some day, we may be able to force that knowledge out of them. Don't give up hope just yet."

She stepped up to the window and placed her fingers up against the glass.

"The Great Sun is still out there?" Nearleen asked, "But it is so far away, how can the Grate Goddess hear my prayers, there are no birds to carry away my words?" Nearleen said.

"Perhaps I can help," Ezekiel said. He stepped up to the replicator placed in the room. "Computer, make me a male angel made from white frosted glass." The replicator complied, producing an angel from a flash of light. He took it and handed it to her.

"Its an angel, a servant of the God that I worship. They are benevolent and understanding." She took it and studied it with a type of fascination.

"It is a man with wings," she said, "But how do I know he will carry my prayers?"

"Because I will ask it of him in my prayers tonight," he said while offering her a smile, "Where ever the Great Temple of Sun is, this angel surly knows where it is.

She still looked uncertain, exchanging glances between the angel in her hands, him, and the retreating stars outside.

"I am told that only demons exist among the stars, and that the Grate Temple has built a towering wall of light to keep out evil things."

"With new friends, there is always a first meeting," Ezekiel said, "Perhaps the guard tower can tell friend from foe."

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Ezekiel said.

To be continued...